With(out) the Filters

Without filters I am flawed. 

I am acne and scars. 

I am freckles. 

Without filters I see inadequacy. 

Without the filters, I am working to change that. 

I'm trying to see beauty, 

and I am trying to see self-love. 

I've become objectified. 

Attempting to look like the cover of a magazine. 

Expecting natural perfection, 

When such a thing will never come to exist. 

Without the filters I begin to see 

My freckles become constellations,  

And my eyes the sun and moon. 

Without the filters I see me. 

I am the young woman, 

A little uncomfortable with herself. 

Insecure. 

But I am also the girl, 

The one who knows these flaws, 

Are nothing more than a sign I am alive. 

Without the filters I am all me, 

and I'm learning to be okay with that.